The main group travels in fairly decent style. The seats are first class on the plane, and they enjoy a quiet unremarkable flight to New Orleans. They touch down right as the sun is setting. The atmosphere is quite different than New Hampshire- the brisk fall air is replaced with a languid humid heat. It is October 25th, 2020. Halloween is less than a week away
The group piles into an Uber to go to the hotel. It’s a lovely building, and as they emerge from the van they were in and get their bags they see a familiar face seated outside smoking one of his cheap cigarettes…
Narl will walk over to the chalk board taking a look to see if he can determine what it might be showing and if he might be able to make some sense of it.
[dice=Intelligence check]1d20 + 4;
"Hmm this is curious I wonder ..."
Narl would guess considering the livelihood of the Lotus Dragons that this list of ships is a list of potential victims- who, what, where, when. A lot of this information would be only available from the harbor master’s office.
I should note that I never posted the loot from the mummy Medusa. I’ll will rectify that failure when I get home. But there was a golden signet ring that would fit the declivity
Justin sees a small irregularity in the wall. He searches around and a small cover unlatches, revealing a small declivity. It looks as if a signet ring or amulet or something of the sort would fit in there
Alessia wades into the hallway like a small child at a piñata party. The hanging corpses are merely that - corpses. Little more than husks, zombies mummified by ages spent in the desiccated air. Her blade slashes through them and then there is a sudden pulse of purple power as she approaches the midpoint of the tunnel.
The entire tunnel lights up. Hamar was just about to step inside when the flash went off, he instinctively turns away and eludes the effects. Alessia feels as if something bathed her in a healing glow
Hamar's tower of will fades, as the Wizard offers his skull companion a rest, the scout decides to scout ahead. He pauses next to Alessia and watches the corpses to see if there is any movement that indicates that they will animate.
Still not satisfied, he plunks one with an arrow - Ranged Attack 1d20+14 - Damage 1d8+2
Thr arrow hits and the corpse seems to wiggle a bit. It is definitely animated in some fashion
I’ll assume Taishe goes to the map, and Jakun takes the chalkboard. I know the kobold wants to do All The Things {tm} but focus!
The map is in Opalline Common, well inked and easy to read. There are three colors of pins- blue, red, and gold. There isn’t any legend explaining what the colors signify, but you see Lavinia Vellasca’s Estate marked with a gold pin. Other estates in her neighborhood are marked with either blue or red pins, but hers is the only one gold. Several of the militia barracks have either blue, red or both blue and red pins in them, and several businesses have blue and gold , blue alone, or red alone in them.
Jakun peers at the large chalkboard- most of it is in Common , except one corner that is in a weird curlicue script. Anyone have Aquan ? most of it seems to be ship names and arrival times as well as cargoes and mooring information. Most of it is current. Jakun is nonplussed to see HIS name, along with the rest of the party’s chalked in a box and underlined with a note reading. VANTHUS! FIX THIS NOW!
"I'm thinking that a problem for later Hamar, these folks have been trapped a while I'd guess, leaving them for now isn't going to cause them any more harm, we got to finish this mission first."
2 questions: has the magical darkness dispelled any with the death of the medusa, and do we now level up?
This room is dominated by a large hexagonal table surrounded by comfortable-looking padded chairs. On the northern wall is a huge map of Opal that is pierced with dozens of colored pins. On the southern wall is a very large slate chalkboard filled with scribbling. A metal winch crank protrudes from the wall in the northwest corner On the eastern wall is another teakwood door - closed
Alessia sees a narrow passsge, some five feet wide. There are hanged bodies every ten feet dangling down, their withered toes just brushing the dusty rock floor. Alessia can hear a soft rustling and twisting coming from the hanging corpses
Alessia walks deeper into the dark chamber. There are more statues, hundreds perhaps. the room looks to be a natural cavern that was worked into some sort of regular shape at some point. Towards the back there is a tunnel mouth. The tunnel mouth is a stylized crocodile, with the mouth emerging from the side. A faint hissing whispering sound can be heard within the tunnel.
K(religion) 20
Spoiler:
The head represents Ammut, the demon god of the Egyptian pantheon that ate the hearts of sinners that were judged and found wanting
The stunned giant vermin is slashed and stabbed from several angles. It twitches and lies still, leaking a greenish ichor
Good job all
A door to the north lies ajar. The thing’s chain leads through the doorway into that room. Another door lies to the east. That door is shut. Both doors are the typical ones you have seen before- well-maintained oiled teakwood.
The barbarian, eyes screwed tightly shut, his Luckstone ablaze with primordial elemental energies upon his brow, swings his vorpal blade through the air. The impossibly keen blade, so sharp the edge seems to shimmer cleaves the air with an odd *snicker snack* sound, as if the sword was parting the very particles of air in twain as it went.
The mummified medusa, beset on all sides by foes, had been just about to disengage and trigger some sort of foul sorcery when Hamar's blade catches her unawares, slicing through her petrified neck as easy as a knife through soft cheese.
The snake-bedecked head pops off into the air, a final screech of rage and fury fading from its lips as the undead thing's head falls to the floor!
OK. We're kinda stuck, so we're gonna do a ..MONTAGE!
Miren, Miyuku, and Nace spend the next few days figuring out the details of their new contracting gigs. True to his word, Jonathan has set up credit cards for them as well as sending a 'pre-pay test' of $2,000 to each of their bank accounts to ensure the direct deposit was functioning correctly.
Characters don't need to worry about funding anymore ...one less thing
On the second day Sabrina stops by their inn. She is dressed a bit more conservatively than they had seen her, looking more like she belonged in the 21st Century. She had toned the makeup and dress to average professional, and could be any middle management type. She offers them a lunch at a local restaurant called the Hallifax Freehouse.
Here you can see if Coyote can be included as an independent contractor or just keep quiet about him
The Freehouse was down by the Nobcusset River, and the building had obviously been involved in some sort of millinery production at some point. The restaurant was cavernous, and still had a warehousey type of feel, but with an updated touristy vibe. They served local craft beers and gastropub remix food.
Sabrina sat down with a large pint of some frothy red ale called Frosty Goggles and a rare steak and salad combo. While tucking in she gave them a low down on the prospective job
"Jonathan is looking for a certain book. He had been in discussions to purchase it from its owner, but contact with her has unexpectedly ceased. The owner, an occultist from New Orleans named Madame Estelle Verdereau, is an ...eccentric character, and Jonathan is wary of sending more regular cadres down for fear she might take flight and disappear for a year or three. People who truck with the supernatural can be very paranoid. He's hoping that perhaps you can see if you can contact her discreetly,or at least find out what is going on with her and perhaps find out if she is still interested in selling the book."
For the next obvious question
Sabrina smiles
"Ah yes, the book. The Book of Faiyum. It is an ancient text, dating back to Ancient Egypt. It is said to have once been numbered amongst the books held at the Library of Alexandria before it burned. It deals with rituals associated with the dead, and the spirit realm. Many would be very interested to peruse it."
She slides over a manilla folder
"There are tickets to a flight tomorrow afternoon out of Logan Airport to New Orleans. There are reservations at the Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter as well. Three adjoining suites with a conference room reserved in the business level. Late October should be a fairly quiet time in the city, but be careful. It is one of the most haunted, spiritually active places in America"
Taishe gingerly walks through the ankle-high (or shin high to him!) muck and filth of the room to the hole where the chain goes. It seems to be just that - A hole, and the chain disappears within. His keen senses perceive that the chain and the stone are both worn in patterns that would seem to indicate that the chain can be hauled in by some mechanism in a further on room, thus restraining the Rhagadossa from free movement, and allowing those beyond to egress.
Anyone who has not made a prior successful DC 21 Will ST vs. the medusa's aura of despair and is within 30' of it must do so this round. If you succeed you are good for the rest of the brawl. Also, if within 30' you are vulnerable to its gaze attack. You can either close your eyes and fight blinded or make a Fort DC 21 ST each rd or turn to stone (or be Alessia and be immune to everything)
Hamar: 17 Miss
Medusa Mummy: 15 phantasmal Killer on Hamar
Alessia: 14 Miss [see previous post -assumed move to B10]
Merle: 11 dispel fail
Justin: 8 mag miss- hit
Karrin: 6 hit
the tentacles seem to be quite stubborn. They wave almost mockingly as Merle casts her spell again. Karrin flies up and strikes the undead Gorgon with her axe. It is a tellling blow
A small twinkling gem emerges from the filth. It is a blue sphere, multifaceted. Narl has seen similar items before. They are often called Wizard stones, or Elemental Gems. They are formally known in wizarding circles as Ioun Stones. He isn’t sure what this particular one does, but he is sure he could figure it out given time
The barbarian hears sibilant snake language being spoken in a whisper
Yuan Ti:
””Deepest fears come crawling from your darkest thoughts to claw at your soul!
She is casting Phantasmal Killer on Hamar. I can’t really meta game her, it’s what she would do, not knowing about his Luckstone, assuming his will would be fairly weak as a barbarian
The barbarian twists and dodges the grasping eldritch tentacles and sweeps his preternaturally keen blade where he thinks the mummy might be. He senses he guessed correctly, but this is no shambling undead! There is a dry slithering as the snake creature avoids his blow!
Hamar: 17 Miss
Medusa Mummy: 15 phantasmal Killer on Hamar
Alessia: 14 Miss [see previous post -assumed move to B10]
Merle: 11
Justin: 8
Karrin: 6 Action from rd 2 held
Merle casts her spell, but the ebon tentacles stubbornly refuse to disappear. Justin’s magic missiles lance out and all but one of the medusae disappear B11-the correct answer is B11.
we are going to hold Karrin’s action for now. Guy has mentioned he’s busy atm, so let’s just go with what we have and put in Karrin’s attacks later
The Minotaur heads to the open door and peers through the crack.
Perception 1d20+4
The open door leads to a small cubby. It smells of vermin and vermin feces. The place is filthy, and seems to be bare save for filth and some bones. The chain leads through the room and enters a small hole in the wall on the further side. There are no doors in this room
The stunned giant vermin is slashed and stabbed from several angles. It twitches and lies still, leaking a greenish ichor
Good job all
A door to the north lies ajar. The thing’s chain leads through the doorway into that room. Another door lies to the east. That door is shut. Both doors are the typical ones you have seen before- well-maintained oiled teakwood.
Jakun moves into a flanking spot past the blinded creature and attacks!
Taishe knows this creature is a unique type of monster to this jungle called a Rhagodessa. It is a ten-legged vermin, not from the insect or spider family, but a separate vermin branch. They are sensitive to light, which is likely why Jakun's spell was so effective. They are effectively mindless, so any type of charm magic is wasted on them
Looking at her sheet, Alessia is a 28 CMD, so again she is OK
Alessia fights through the thicket of grasping ebon tentacles that attempt to curl around her armored legs and aims a sweeping cut at one of the medusae. Her black blade flickers by inches from the thing's linen wrappings
Hamar: 17 (Activating Hamar's Luckstone)
Medusa Mummy: 15 Gaze Attack/Black Tentacles
Alessia: 14 hit - dispel phantasm
Merle: 11 Arrives at foot of stair w 1 action
Justin: 8 - Mag Missile - call target
Karrin: 6
Blayze (Above/distracted)
The three reamining medusae spin northward, and cast their gaze towards Hamar.
Were your eyes still closed?
There is a string of sibilant words in Aklo, and suddenly a writhing nest of ebon tentacles erupt from the floor! They surround Alessia and Hamar, clutching at them with preternatural strength
CMB check Hamar:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14
CMB check Alessia:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22
Black Tentacle description:
This spell causes a field of rubbery black tentacles to appear, burrowing up from the floor and reaching for any creature in the area.
Every creature within the area of the spell is the target of a combat maneuver check made to grapple each round at the beginning of your turn, including the round that black tentacles is cast. Creatures that enter the area of effect are also automatically attacked. The tentacles do not provoke attacks of opportunity. When determining the tentacles’ CMB, the tentacles use your caster level as their base attack bonus and receive a +4 bonus due to their Strength and a +1 size bonus. Roll only once for the entire spell effect each round and apply the result to all creatures in the area of effect.
If the tentacles succeed in grappling a foe, that foe takes 1d6+4 points of damage and gains the grappled condition. Grappled opponents cannot move without first breaking the grapple. All other movement is prohibited unless the creature breaks the grapple first. The black tentacles spell receives a +5 bonus on grapple checks made against opponents it is already grappling, but cannot move foes or pin foes. Each round that black tentacles succeeds on a grapple check, it deals an additional 1d6+4 points of damage. The CMD of black tentacles, for the purposes of escaping the grapple, is equal to 10 + its CMB.
The tentacles created by this spell cannot be damaged, but they can be dispelled as normal. The entire area of effect is considered difficult terrain while the tentacles last.
Jakun: 24
Norveg: 20 Shield of Faith on Jakun
Tragon: 20
Creepie: 10
Narl: 7
Taishe: ?
Narl studied many different tomes in his preparation to travel to this strange continent. He had read that the jungles hereabouts held many vicious insectile vermin, often quite large, but he is unaware of this particular species.
The Barbarian grunts as the power washes over him. A mental attack!
He opts for a defensive move, eyes still closed, the Barbarian activates his stone.
Hamar feels a wall of mental energy surround his mind. The gem at his brow glows with a kaleidoscopic fire, rippling through the spectrum much like the creature Pando did when it conversed with the party in the cave on that strange and wonderful beach.
Anyone near Hamar
Hamar’s brow suddenly erupts in a prism of multicolored light. The room’s shadows seem to retreat from the magical glow
Taishe grabs the door and swings it open, prudently shielding himself behind its stout teak frame. And it seems a wise choice, as the room beyond holds a hissing insectile horror! A fearsome giant cross between a spider and an ant about the size of a pony, ten legged, with a sharp chitinous set of oversized ebony mandibles. The creature wears an iron collar with a stout chain welded to it. The chain trails back into the room behind it, but doesn’t seem to hinder it. The creature hisses louder, opening its mandibles wide and lunges at the doorway!
